Source: Ford Social
Our new robots can do amazing things – from “shaking hands”, to making a cup of coffee, to enabling us to trial a new approach to building cars.
These special collaborative robots – or co-bots – are helping workers fit shock absorbers to Fiestas, a task that requires pinpoint accuracy, strength, and a high level of dexterity; though for this video we also wanted to show some of their more light-hearted capabilities.
Employees, in Cologne, Germany, work hand-in-hand with the 1-metre high co-bots that are equipped with hi-tech sensors to ensure worker safety. They can stop immediately if they detect so much as a finger in their path.
Developed over two years, the robot programme was carried out in close partnership with German robot manufacturer, KUKA Roboter GmbH. The trial is part of our investigations into Industry 4.0, a term coined to describe a fourth industrial revolution.